Thursday, November 26, 2015

Rescued Russian pilot vows 'pay back' for his lost co-pilot after Turks shot him down with 'no warning'

The Russian jet pilot rescued by special forces from a forest in northern Syria has today vowed to continue flying missions over the country as 'payback' for his commander. Captain Konstantin Murakhtin (pictured main, with his wife), who was evacuated from rebel-held territory after his plane was downed by Turkey, has also claimed he was given no warning he was violating Turkish airspace. His co-pilot, Lieutenant Colonel Oleg Peshkov (inset left) was killed after the plane they were flying was shot down by the Turkish military yesterday. A soldier named today as Alexandr Pozynich (inset right) was also killed during the 12-hour operation to rescue Cpt Murahtin. Despite the international community's best efforts to reduce tensions, President Vladimir Putin has now deployed his feared S-400 battalions (illustrated right) to Latakia, Syria, in response. Military analysts said the anti-aircraft system - with a missile range of 250miles - was a 'formidable potential threat' to coalition aircraft flying over Syria, Iraq, Turkey and even as far as Cyprus, where RAF jets are stationed.